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Published August 19, 2015 | Published
Book Section - Chapter Open

The temporal evolution of chemical and physical properties of magmatic systems

Abstract

Exactly 100 years ago the great Canadian-born petrologist N. L. Bowen published two seminal works on the chemical differentiation of magmas in which he posed the basis for a physico-chemical understanding of the fractionation of crystals from melts in molten rock. A subsequent century of research and technological advances has enhanced our understanding of the physics and chemistry of magmatic systems and their temporal evolution. The image of sub-volcanic magmatic systems has evolved greatly in that time, from a simple 'boiling vat' concept of molten rock in which bubbles, crystals and melt separate gravitationally to a recognition that magma vats are relatively rare and that most magmatic systems spend much of their lifetime in a partially molten, or mushy, state. Real magmatic systems appear to be organized into a series of storage regions periodically connected by feeding structures transferring magma (and heat) at different fluxes. Magma fluxes between the different portions of this plumbing system, and the variation of the chemical and physical properties of magma as it rises through the crust, exert essential controls on the eruptive modalities of volcanoes and the geochemistry of their products. This book presents a collection of contributions that use petrology, geochemistry, geochronology and numerical modelling to identify the processes operating at different depths within magmatic systems and to characterize the fluxes of magma between them.

Additional Information

© 2015 The Author(s). Published by The Geological Society of London. First published online August 19, 2015. We are grateful for the support of Angharad Hills in producing this book, for the efforts of reviewers in improving the content, and to Jessica Pollitt for professional and efficient editorial support. L. C. acknowledges the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation and thanks the students of the second-year (2015) physical volcanology course for inspiring discussions. L. C. would also like to thank Eva Hartung, David Flöss, Guy Simpson and Urs Schaltegger for many thoughts about the long-term evolution of magmatic systems. J. B. acknowledges support from a European Research Council Advanced Grant 'CRITMAG' and a Wolfson Research Merit Award. He is grateful to the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation for providing sabbatical support at the California Institute of Technology where many of the ideas expressed in this short introduction were refined through discussions with Ed Stolper and Paul Asimow. Simon Powell is thanked for drafting Figure 1. The comments of Bruce Marsh and an anonymous reviewer were very helpful and served to improve the clarity of this introduction.

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